TOW It's All A Delusion
by vixenmoon
Summary: When Rachel went to the airport to stop Ross marrying Emily, she got hit by a car and was in a coma for a year but in her world, six familiar years have passed... One episode only.


'It's getting really weird,' Ross said. 'What happens if she goes to Paris?' Emily shrugged.

'Somehow I don't think she will,' Emily said. 'Have you noticed that her fantasies don't get her out of Central Perk much?'

'Yeah. It's as if none of us really make any new friends or go anywhere, at least not for long - how many years in time is she?'

'I don't know. I think Monica said it was 2004 now.'

'Wow. Six years in a year.' Ever since Rachel, on her way to the wedding, had been hit by a car in New York and been put into a coma. They hadn't heard until after the honeymoon because no-one had wanted to spoil things for them, and it seemed at the time that Rachel would soon wake up.

'It's going to be so hard for her when she wakes up, if she really thinks that six years have passed and all of those things actually happened.'

'I wonder what will happen when she does, and realises that we're still married, and expecting a baby. I never realised she hated me so much,' Emily said.

'She doesn't hate you,' Ross said.

'But to fantasise what she did about the wedding…' Ross cursed silently. Joey had blurted out the tale, in all innocence to Emily. Rachel had started mumbling in her coma, two weeks after the accident, about being on the plane. Joey had been there when she started moving forward in her own timescale and talking about the ceremony. He had been amazed to hear that she imagined that Ross said her name, and not Emily's, and he'd told everyone. It soon became clear that in whatever fantasy world Rachel had been in, she'd wiped Emily off the map. It was one thing for her to do it because she'd forgotten Emily existed - after such a short acquaintance, that would not be so incredible. It was another to portray her as unreasonable in the way she did.

To tell the truth, all of that made Ross feel uncomfortable and even if Emily hadn't been so upset by Rachel's - well, you'd have to call them fantasies - he wouldn't have been able to spend much time listening to them. At first he visited Rachel every week, but now it had been three months since he had been. He just didn't want to hear what she said. Not only was it a bit creepy, it was also very sad, most of it. After hearing what Rachel had said about her, Emily had not gone at all. That had caused an argument with Monica, who seemed to think that their whole lives should revolve around Rachel's hospital bed.

'You're just being controlling!' Monica had told Emily, 'Just like Rachel said. You're stopping Ross from visiting.'

'I'm not!' Emily had protested, 'That's just her dream, that's not me! I know you'd like to blame me for that, but you can't. Ross makes his own mind up.'

'You won't come.'

'Do you think I'd enjoy hearing another woman fantasise about my husband, portray him as an idiot, and slag me off? How would you like it if you had to listen to Kathy or Janice fantasise about Chandler?' By now, Emily was well up on everyone's history.

'That's different,' Monica said, although she couldn't think of a good reason why.

'How so? Just because Rachel's your friend, and she's suffering, doesn't make the situation any different.'

Monica was the one who found herself on the outer when Ross and Emily announced they were expecting a child. The Gellers were totally absorbed with the prospect of a new arrival, although it was still early days yet. Chandler had said at the news,

'Life goes on.' It had gone on. Sure, the others were still visiting Rachel. Gunther for one, came every day, hoping to hear something favourable to him. But Joey and Phoebe were doing their own thing too, and Chandler had to be reminded about Rachel.

Monica had gained some understanding of how Emily felt when Rachel had imagined her infertility. She had sat at Rachel's bedside, crying about it for days as she heard the story of how she and Chandler were unable to have children together. She had to have children, she just had to. It was an awful thing to have to listen to. But they were best friends and she stayed. She didn't breathe a word to Chandler, in case all of this freaked him out the way it was freaking her out. They weren't at that stage in their relationship yet and Monica didn't want to spoil things.

But now, something was going to happen, Monica was sure of it. Rachel was going to Paris. Co-incidentally, she ran into Phoebe the day she heard Rachel talk about it.

'I agree,' Phoebe had said, 'Something's going to happen, I can sense it.'

'Do you think she'll wake?'

'I hope so. It's been a whole year of her life, lost. She can't lose more.' Monica felt sad. Living that year, even if she was feeling bad about Ross, would have beaten being in a coma by a long shot. She'd missed all their adventures, the parties, the clothes, autumn, winter, spring and now summer.'

'Do you think she'll remember everything she said?' Phoebe asked. 'It will be so weird. She'll be thinking that she's working for Ralph Lauren - or used to be. She'll be thinking she has a child - with Ross. Oh.'

'Instead, she'll wake up and she'll find Ross and Emily are still married and expecting a child.' Phoebe had recently formed a bond with Emily over the pregnancy and was herself thinking that she'd like to be pregnant again, so that she could have a baby she could keep. 'Perhaps we can save that news for later. Emily's not showing much anyway at the moment.'

'How is Rachel going to pick up her life?' Monica wondered. 'She has no job, so many things have changed.'

'Well this is a lot better than her getting killed,' Phoebe said.

'Yes, of course it is,' Monica said.

They were all going to gather in Rachel's room. Ross had his arm around Emily and Monica thought. She was right, this really is awful for her. Gunther was there.

As they'd suspected, Rachel got off the plane. It was the first time Chandler had heard about the twins, and Monica knew that she would have to explain this to him later.

'Darling,' she heard Ross murmur to Emily.

'I can't believe I have to wait another five years for my big break,' Joey muttered. He didn't know that in Rachel's fantasy, Estelle had died.

'Coffee,' Rachel said. There was something clearer about her voice. 'Coffee. I really need a cup of coffee.'

'Say no more Rachel!' Gunther said joyfully.

'You're awake!' Monica cried. Rachel struggled to sit up, blinking as she looked at them.

'Please tell me it's not 2004.'

'No, it's 1999,' Monica said.

'Oh my God. You mean I've been unconscious for months?' She stared at them all.

'A year,' Chandler said. Rachel looked at him.

'A whole year.'

'More or less. A few days.' Rachel looked over at Ross and Emily.

'So you guys have had your wedding anniversary already?'

'Yes,' Ross said.

'So it's over a year,' Rachel said. 'And you're pregnant,' she said to Emily. Everyone took a second look at her. It was amazing that Rachel had noticed the slight bump. She looked at Joey,

'How you doin?'

'Oh Rach,' Joey said, feeling like crying. 'Okay, I guess. Still looking for my big break.' Rachel looked at Phoebe.

'And you've had the babies without me.'

'Yes. They were all healthy and beautiful.'

'Of course they were.'

'I named one of them after you,' Phoebe said.

'Oh Pheebes,' Rachel said.

'She won't stop talking,' Chandler said. 'She's not really talking much but she babbles more than the other two put together, so I hear.'

'And you?' Rachel asked him. 'What's new with you?' Chandler just took Monica's hand. 'Oh my God, that's, that's amazing.'

'Hey don't act too surprised,' Chandler said. 'Monica's the one who's amazing.'

'Wow,' Rachel said. 'You've all done stuff while I've been here doing nothing.' Monica looed down. 'Oh hon, I'm not reproaching anyone, I just realised what a lot of catching up there is to do.' Gunther came racing back in with coffee.

'Here you are Rachel,' he said. She sipped, and made a face. 'How soon can I get down to Central Perk and have some of your coffee?'

'You'd better see what the doctors say,' Monica said.

'Okay,' Rachel said, 'But they'd better say I can go straight away. In fact, I'll sit out of bed now to show that I'm ready,' she swept the covers said, looked at her legs, screamed and whipped the covers back.

'What?' Monica exclaimed.

'I haven't had a leg wax for a whole year!' wailed Rachel. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as a nurse came rushing in.

'Miss Green needs rest now,' she said.

'Rest!' Rachel exclaimed, 'Do you realise I've been here for a whole year?'

'Maybe we'd better go,' Monica said, 'You've been through a lot.' Six years in one year was a lot to go through even if she had been asleep.' Everyone filed out of the room, but Monica couldn't help hanging back. 'Do you remember?' she asked.

'Remember what?' Rachel asked blankly.

'Nothing,' Monica said, 'You had some bad dreams.'

'I don't remember the accident, if that's what you mean,' Rachel said.

'That's what I mean,' Monica said, 'I'm glad you don't remember.' She kissed her and left the room. Rachel did feel tired, and oddly emotional. How much had she missed?

She remembered rushing to the airport to stop the wedding, and now there had been an anniversary and a baby was on the way. As the nurse fussed around her, she had an odd sensation that she had missed something, the tail end of a dream that disappeared the moment she tried to think about it. She sighed, looked at the nurse and asked,

'Where did you get your hair cut?'


End file.
